Darjeeling, Dec. 28: Bimal Gurung has decided to reshuffle the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha’s three important wings, central committee, core committee and Study Forum, and directed all leaders to reach out to the people.

The Morcha president today organised a meeting at Gorkha Rangamanch Bhavan in Darjeeling and it was attended by members of the central committee and various frontal organisations, and elected representatives of the GTA and municipalities of Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Kurseong and Mirik.

After the closed door meeting, Gurung said: “We have decided to reshuffle the central committee, core committee and Study Forum. I have also directed all our elected representatives and other leaders to start visiting villages and different areas across the hills and intensify their public relations campaign.”

The party’s central committee consists of 93 members, while there are12 members on the core committee and eight in the Study Forum, Morcha sources said.

Gurung said public meetings would be organised in Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Kurseong, Mirik and in the Terai and Dooars. “We will soon reshuffle the committees and then finalise the dates of the meetings,” he added.

Gurung’s decision to reshuffle the Morcha committees and direct his leaders to increase mass contact comes after Kalimpong MLA Harka Bahadur Chhetri announced his intention to float a new political party soon.

Asked about Harka’s new party, Gurung said: “We welcome the decision to form a new party. However, a party should be formed on one’s strength and agenda and it should not rely on someone else.”

The Morcha leader was referring to Mamata Banerjee’s tacit support to Harka.

Apology sought

Morcha general secretary Roshan Giri said on Monday that his lawyers had sent a notice to MLA Harka Bahadur Chhetri to apologise for alleging that he had demanded 15 per cent of the cost to construct a polytechnic college in Kalimpong as commission. Giri said if the MLA didn’t apologise immediately, a defamation suit of Rs 5 crore would be filed against Harka.

BimalGurung asks party leader to reach out to grass-rootpeople

Darjeeling, 28 Dec 2015: Wary of the inroads being made by the TMC in the Hills and dissent among its ranks, GorkhaJanmuktiMorcha (GJM) chief BimalGurung in a counter-measure today asked his leaders and elected members to go back to the grass-root, in a bid to strengthen the party’s foundation.

Gurung returned from Delhi on Saturday after organizing two day dharnafor the statehood demand and meeting Prime Minister NarendraModiwhich today he said had been fruitful. Straight on his return, the GJM president pressed allegations against the TMC trade union for fomenting trouble in the tea gardens.

Today, Gurung alleged the Bengal government and chief minister Mamata Banerjee was trying to divide the Hills people to dilute the statehood demand. “Bengal’s policy is not good. It is trying to create division among the various Hills communities. We must be alert and counter this evil ploy of the state government,” he said.

Gurung addressed a “pranadhisabha” comprising party central leaders, sub-divisional units, frontal organizations and women and youth wings to make them aware of what transpired in Delhi and to give them the task to reach out to supporters. “We have to chalk out our strategy afresh to counter Bengal’s designs. So today I have asked all my elected members and central leaders to visit the constituencies and municipalities and reach out to people even though our party base in the grass-root level is intact,” he said.

The GJM leader also said there was a need to reshuffle the party’s core and central committees and the study forum-the intellectual wing- as one of the ways to strengthen the party. He however refused to say when the reshuffling would be done. “It (reshuffling) is one of the processes to strengthen and infuse fresh energy into the party,” Gurung asserted.

Gurung also took a dig at Kalimpong MLA HarkaBahadurChhetri, wholeft the party in September alleging him of conspiring with the state government against the statehood demand. “It is not good to indulge in opportunistic politics using someone else shoulders. If you want to do politics than you should do it on your own strength,” he said. He even advised Chheti to float a party. “In the coming days I will request him (Chhetri) to form a party to do politics. My ultimate goal is a separate state. But, he does not have any policy,” the GJM leader said, today.

The Kalimpong MLA had recently indicated of floating a party in most probability next year in 2016. GJM on the other hand demanded to know from Chhetri, if the statehood demand would figure in his party.

On question of the upcoming 2016 Assembly, the GJM president said he has not given thought to it but expressed confidence of an out-right victory. (EOIC)

FLASH NEWS

West Bengal Govt. to form Namasudra Development Board within a month’s time, Bengal’s largest Dalit community Namasudras, many of whom are post-1971 migrants from Bangladesh. Some 17 ethnic development boards have been formed by Mamata Banerjee in Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts for the different communities of the hills. 35,140 total views, […]

With the tripartite talks failing in Uttar Kanya, the Joint Forum of Tea Trade Unions have called for a three-day bandh of all tea estates in Terai and Dooars in the plains and stopping of tea dispatch in all the tea gardens of the Hills. They also started a sit-in […]

UNESCO has expressed its displeasure over the maintenance of Darjeeling’s toy train and the closure of some stations due to the shortage of manpower and poor maintenance. 39,753 total views, 5,856 views today Comments comments

Gorkha Janmukti Morcha leader Bimal Gurung on Saturday claimed that the West Bengal government was secretly measuring land in Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts of West Bengal to settle those people who names would not eventually come up in the final list of National Register of Citizenship (NRC) 39,750 total views, 5,855 views […]

Four youths, Lakhu Subba, Wangdi Tamang, Kamal Mothay and Bigesh Mothay, all in their early 30’s, were arrested on Sunday on charges of raping the 16-year-old. 39,678 total views, 5,855 views today Comments comments

DT Archives

Sponsored

Apr 27, 2018Comments Off on Meet Aqui Thami from Darjeeling, whose travelling library is putting the spotlight on women’s books

‘Sister Library’, founded by the artist and activist, is going to several cities and sparking conversations around the representation of women in literature. Aqui Thami is an artist and activist from Darjeeling,...

By: Jyoti Thapa Mani [Gorkha History writer] This profile of Capt. Ram Singh Thakuri was compiled by eminent Gorkha history writer Ms. Jyoti Thapa, who meticulously curated this profile over the past 12 years, and used...

Feb 04, 2015Comments Off on Gazette Notification on issue of Citizenship issue of Gorkhas

Gazette Notification on issue of Citizenship issue of Gorkhas (Published in the Gazette of India Extraordinary Part – I Section 1 dated the 23rd August 1988 ) No. 26011/6/88-ICI Government of India Ministry of...